Most people buy a PC preinstalled with the edition of Windows that meets their unique needs. However, for some customers their needs may change over time.

With Windows Anytime Upgrade (or WAU), we make it super easy and convenient for the small number of customers who’s PC needs evolve to need a higher edition of Windows 7.

There are a couple of specific situations where we think WAU will prove useful:

Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Home Premium: $79.99

A customer may purchase a netbook thinking they would use primarily it for email. Over time, they find they are using that netbook as their primary every-day PC. That person decides they want their netbook to do more. If the netbook is running Windows 7 Starter (or Windows 7 Home Basic in select markets), WAU makes it super easy to upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. Moving to Windows 7 Home Premium will allow that customer to take advantage of features such as Aero Peek and other enhanced functionality in the Windows Taskbar in Windows 7 such as Taskbar Previews. Desktop themes are also enabled and so is Remote Media Streaming.

Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional: $89.99
Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Ultimate: $139.99*

* You’ll note that we’ve reduced the price of moving from Home Premium to Ultimate 12% in the US as compared to Vista pricing

Another case where WAU may come in handy is when a person wants the ability to connect to a business network (a “domain”). Using WAU to move up to Windows 7 Professional enables the customer to take advantage of the ability to join a domain and use Windows XP Mode to run older programs. When using WAU to move to Windows 7 Ultimate, you’ll get everything from the other editions plus BitLocker to keep your USB devices encrypted and secure and the ability to run your PC in any of 35 different languages (via Language Packs).

After Windows 7 is released to market on October 22nd, you will be able to buy a retail package that contains an upgrade key at a store near you for any of the 3 paths I highlighted above.

If you live in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK or the US (13 countries) – you will be able to purchase the upgrade from Microsoft online directly within Windows 7.

Whether you buy a WAU retail package from a store or online directly within Windows 7, the upgrade takes as few as ten minutes. This is because it only requires an upgrade key (no media). Your current programs, files, and settings will remain intact.

For a rundown of the Windows Anytime Upgrade experience, click here.

Now let’s talk about the Windows 7 Family Pack. Last week I confirmed we were doing a family pack for Windows 7 consisting of Windows 7 Home Premium for installation on up to 3 PCs.

Today, most homes have more than one PC in them. When you run Windows 7 on more than one PC on a home network, you can do more with features like HomeGroup. HomeGroup allows people to connect to PCs on their network and share files, music and photos with the whole family – easily. The Windows 7 Family Pack is an easy and affordable way to get all your PCs in your household running Windows 7 through licensing to install Windows 7 Home Premium on up to 3 PCs.

The Windows 7 Family Pack will be available starting on October 22nd until supplies last here in the US and other select markets. In the US, the price for the Windows 7 Family Pack will be $149.99 for 3 Windows 7 Home Premium licenses. That’s a savings of more than $200 for three licenses. This is a great value and we’re excited to be able to offer it to customers.

Hi, Mark Rogers here. I run the Software Ecosystem Team here at Microsoft. Building on Mike’s recent post on overall ecosystem readiness, I wanted give you a quick update on our progress helping developers get ready to serve the hundreds of millions of users of Windows with our next release.

We listened carefully to our partners on every continent, except maybe Antarctica, and overhauled our online content and tools for Windows 7. Millions of developers have been visiting the Windows Developer Center to take advantage of code samples, white papers, and tools. The team recently released the Windows 7 RC Training Kit for developers- which includes presentations, hands-on labs, and demos. Al Gillen recently released a whitepaper on Windows 7 and why developers should be considering this product now.

I also wanted to take a moment and highlight a new contest for developers called the Windows 7 Code Contest. The Windows 7 Code Contest is a worldwide contest recognizing and rewarding professional and hobbyist developers for applications showing off the features in Windows 7. Developers can prepare to innovate and Code to the Power of Windows 7! To sign up, developers can go here: www.Code7Contest.com. We made it easy to submit with short videos and submissions are already flowing in - I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

It’s exciting to see that, even before Windows 7 ships, we’re seeing software partners deliver products that are better with Windows 7 by taking advantage of new features. Here are a few examples.

Windows Touch and multi-touch features provide a natural, intuitive way for users to interact with PCs. Companies such as Roxio, Corel, and Cegid are all enabling Windows Touch in their applications. Roxio has been developing a range of applications and services designed for Windows 7 that use the full capabilities of our platform. Personally - my favorite is Roxio PhotoShow Touch. Here is what Michael Demeyer, Vice President of Corporate Products from Sonic Solutions, says about Windows 7 and Windows Touch:

We’re seeing new opportunities combining the power of online services with new features in Windows 7 such as Windows Touch. Our new PhotoShow Touch application on Windows 7 allows us to create an immersive and engaging experience for creating and editing slideshows with the touch of a finger. The new technology in Windows 7 has enabled us to shorten our time to market and expand our business as customers experience our new software first hand.

On the commercial side, we have Cegid Group who is integrating the desktop functionality, new functions, features, and gadgets of Windows 7 with its Cegid Business ERP product lines. Cegid takes advantage of the new Jump Lists, Search functions, and Windows Touch to connect people and information throughout the enterprise. ­Pierre Dianteill, Director of Marketing at Cegid Group, talks about early integration of Windows 7 in their products:

Cegid and Microsoft have a profound and long standing partnership providing both enterprise applications and vertical solutions to our mutual customers, world-wide. Cegid is a Microsoft Gold Partner and a consistent early adopter of Microsoft technologies. The early integration of Windows 7 within the Cegid Business ERP product lines demonstrates our on-going commitment to offer Microsoft based solutions delivering business value and competitive advantage to our customers.

Corel is taking advantage of new features in Windows 7 to deliver new and exciting ways for consumers to interact with creative software. New products in the works will support the newest features of Windows 7. Joe Roberts, Executive Vice President of Products at Corel, discusses bringing people closer to their content with Corel products and Windows 7:

Looking at the Windows 7 Release Candidate, one thing is absolutely clear -- Microsoft has it right. With the introduction of Windows Touch technology, Corel has the opportunity to design an entirely new generation of consumer graphics and digital media applications that will enable users to create in more personal and exciting ways. We believe the user should always be at the center of the creative process. With the hands-on capabilities in Windows 7, we're now able to foster more natural, connected interactions between people and their content, whether it is a favorite photo, video or digital painting.

Sensor and Location API’s in Windows 7 offer a platform for using sensor devices, such as light sensors or GPS sensors, to create environmental or location awareness in programs. FullArmor delivered a software-plus-services offering called PolicyPortal which utilized Windows Azure services for scale, and used sensor APIs in Windows 7 for location based tracking for theft deterrence and management, reducing hardware requirements and training, which directly reduced the cost of deploying the solution. Here is what Danny Kim, CTO of FullArmor, has to say about their products and Windows 7:

Our goal with Windows 7 is to help our customers reduce costs and extend the Windows platform to provide greater value. Our solution, PolicyPortal, is a service that runs on Windows Azure to manage laptops running all flavors of Windows Client, including Windows 7. We believe the combination of PolicyPortal on Windows Azure, and Windows 7 is a great combination to lower costs for our customers while increasing functionality.

Software and hardware companies are also taking advantage of Shell Integration to be more discoverable, informative and interactive. Nuance is leveraging new technology in Windows 7 to revolutionizing the way people scan, search, edit and store paper. Windows 7 lets Nuance make scanning easy and accessible – just a click away within Windows Explorer. Nuance PDF Converter lets us make converting from paper or PDF into Microsoft Office formats as easy as a single click with Jump Lists, and makes it possible to search and find scanned documents as easy and as integrated as searching your Microsoft Office files. Here is what Robert Weideman, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Nuance’s Document Imaging Division, says:

Since 1999, Nuance and Microsoft have partnered to help users and organizations overcome barriers to productivity cause by paper. With Windows 7 we have dramatically magnified the benefits of that partnership, to the benefit of all users. Scanning has never been so easy, converting documents never so valuable, and the user experience never so compelling.  The combination of Nuance imaging applications on Windows 7 will make everyone believe in the Green Office.

The best part of my job is seeing all the new investment in Windows 7! There are many other partners getting ready for Windows 7 - please visit www.readyset7.com to learn more or simply see what they are saying here.

Last week, I blogged that members of the Windows Technical Beta Program would not be receiving a complimentary copy of Windows 7. Normally I hate to be wrong but in this case, I’m stoked that I am.

To show our appreciation, members of the invitation-only Windows 7 Technical Beta Program will be eligible for a free, final copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. For more information on how to take advantage of this, refer to Paul’s post in the .Beta_Program newsgroup for details.

Tell Paul that Brandon sent you - and be sure to thank him!

When we announced Windows 7 had RTM’d on Wednesday, I posted that OEMs would receive the RTM code within a few days. Well, it’s been a few days! Earlier today, a handful of OEMs arrived in Redmond to pick up their RTM code. In the past when a Windows release reaches RTM, we have traditionally given some/selected OEMs the opportunity to come to Redmond and pick up the RTM code personally. I thought it would be neat to showcase these OEMs that came to campus today as the RTM code is handed off to them to begin preparing for General Availability (GA) on October 22, 2009!

HP: On right is Sean Kovacs, HP DTO Onsite Engineer. On the left is Titan Yang, HP Systems Engineer.

Toshiba: On the right is Hideki Yagi, Director at Toshiba. On the left is Michael Henry, Global Alliance Manager for Toshiba. On the far left is Greg Taylor from Microsoft and on the far right is Mari Kitajima also with Microsoft.

Lenovo: In the middle is Nicole Hopper from Lenovo. On the left of her is James Hendergart and to her right is Zhan Ding both of Microsoft.

Asus: On the left is Derek Li, Systems Engineer from Asus. On the right is David He from Microsoft.

Acer: On the left is Yifan Li, Engineer from Acer. On the right is Clint Woon from Microsoft.

Dell: On the middle right is Christian Piccini, Software Engineer from Dell. On the far left is Jay Hendricks, Senior Software Engineer from Dell. Second from the left is Phil Burtscher and on the far right is Matt Davis both from Microsoft.

Sony: On the left is Herbert Pang, Program Manager for Sony and on the right is Mina Bush, Software Engineer for Sony.

Fujitsu-Siemens: On the left is Henning Klein, Program Manager for Fujitsu. On the right is Constantine Mitschke-Collande from Microsoft.

[Note: Order of OEM by order in which photos were taken today.]

As GA approaches this fall, it will be exciting to see the awesome OEM products running preinstalled with Windows 7!

I thought I’d share an inside peek from our annual sales kick-off event in Atlanta. Steven Sinofsky joined Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on stage to announce the RTM of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. There’s even a clip of Steve Ballmer signing the gold RTM DVDs. Check it out!

Windows 7 Sneak-Peak from MGX

Steven Sinofsky, President of the Windows Division, discusses more about RTM of Windows 7 including a short video of the RTM sign-off process.

Read Steven’s post here.

I am pleased to announce that Windows 7 has RTM’d!

As I mentioned previously, RTM officially happens only after sign-off occurs. What happens is a build gets designated as a RTM contender after going through significant testing and meeting our quality bar for RTM. Then, it goes though all the validation checks required for RTM including having all languages of that build completed. If all the validation checks have passed – sign-off for RTM can occur. Today after all the validation checks were met, we signed off and declared build 7600 as RTM.

Not only is RTM an important milestone for us – it’s also an important milestone for our partners. Today’s release is the result of hard work and collaboration with our partners in the industry to make Windows 7 a success. We delivered Windows 7 with a predictable feature set on a predictable timetable that allowed OEMs to focus on value and differentiation for their customers.

Our customers told us what they want (and expect) and we defined those specific experiences and then built features to support them (like HomeGroup and the Windows Taskbar enhancements). Our customers also told us that “fundamentals” on both the hardware and software side was extremely important. Windows 7 today runs great on the broadest array of hardware types ranging from netbooks to high-end gaming machines. We worked closely with OEMs so that their PCs delight customers with the new features in Windows 7.

Of course, today’s release is also the result of the amazing amount of feedback we received from the millions of people who tested Windows 7 – from Beta to RC. We actually had over 10 million people opt-in to the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP). That’s a lot of people opting in to help us make Windows 7 a solid release. Through CEIP, our engineers were guided by customer feedback all the way to RTM. We also have had a great group of beta testers who have dedicated a great deal of their time to testing Windows 7 too. A special thank you goes out to all the people who helped test Windows 7.

I’d also like to give a shout-out to my friends over on the Windows Server Team. Today they are also announcing that Windows Server 2008 R2 has RTM’d. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 together can help businesses cut costs and increase productivity. Click here to read their blog post on Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM.

The RTM code will be delivered to our partners within the next few days who will then start preparing to deliver some amazing new products timed to hit at General Availability (GA) of Windows 7 on October 22nd. And going forward, I expect to be showcasing MANY of these new products here on The Windows Blog.

We continue to be overwhelmed at the community’s response to Windows 7 and it has been an extremely rewarding experience to witness. We hope the enthusiasm will continue to grow even more as our partners build amazing experiences with their products and Windows 7.

If you want to know when you’ll be able to get RTM of Windows 7, click here to read my post from yesterday outlining which audiences will get access to the RTM bits.

When will I get Windows 7 RTM?

I recognize this is an important question to have answered. Many of you have said you want to know exactly when you will be able to get your hands on RTM. Last Monday, I gave an update on RTM to close out some myths. In that update, I also gave a broad timeline on when different groups of people – or “audiences” – would get the final RTM code.

While I have nothing new to add regarding RTM today, I do however have more precise information to give on when you will be able to get RTM. Again, when you can get RTM depends on who you are.

For Partners & OEMs:

ISV (Independent software vendor) and IHV (Independent hardware vendor) Partners will be able to download Windows 7 RTM from Microsoft Connect or MSDN on August 6th. There is already a lot of momentum from ISVs and IHVs in the ecosystem today for Windows 7 as Mike Nash blogged last week. If you are a partner who has been working on Windows 7 for a while, now is the time to complete your testing with final version of Windows 7. For partners that haven’t gotten started yet with Windows 7, now is the time to get involved. You can also visit www.readyset7.com to learn more about getting ready for Windows 7.

Microsoft Partner Program Gold/Certified Members will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English through the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Portal on August 16th. By October 1st, the remaining languages will become available to download.

Microsoft Action Pack Subscribers will be about to download Windows 7 RTM in English starting August 23rd here. By October 1st, the remaining languages will become available to download.

OEMs will receive Windows 7 RTM software images beginning approximately 2 days after we officially RTM, as a little time is required to release and distribute these images. This will allow them to begin preparing images for new PCs to ship with Windows 7 on them. We know our OEMs are excited for Windows 7 and we can’t wait to hand them the final RTM bits!

For Business Customers:

If you are a Volume License (VL) customer with an existing Software Assurance (SA) license you will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English starting August 7th via the Volume License Service Center (VLSC). The rest of the languages for Windows 7 RTM should be available within a couple of weeks after that.

Volume License customers without a SA license will be able to purchase Windows 7 through Volume Licensing on September 1st as we announced last week at WPC09. Mark these dates on your calendar and start making your deployment plans!

For IT Professionals:

There are a few ways you can get Windows 7 RTM. IT Professionals with TechNet Subscriptions will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6th and remaining languages by October 1st.

IT Professionals at companies with Volume Licensing see above on how you can get Windows 7 RTM.

We have quite a bit of resources for IT Professionals to use to become experts on Windows 7 and to aid in their deployments. Those resources can be found at the Springboard Series.

For Developers:

Developers with MSDN Subscriptions will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6th and remaining languages by October 1st.

To help developers who are developing applications for Windows 7 or updating existing applications to take advantage of new Windows 7 features, check out the Windows 7 for Developers Blog. Also, be sure to check out the Windows 7 Developers Guide on MSDN. Oh and there are also some fantastic videos on Channel 9 too!

For Beta Testers & Enthusiasts:

A special thank you to our beta testers is needed for their time and effort in helping make Windows 7 a solid release. The special pre-order offer we did offering Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional at almost 50% discount was done with our beta testers in mind. And many of you jumped at the chance to take advantage of this deal – thank you!

I know there have been some rumors going around about a “family pack” for Windows 7. We have heard a lot of feedback from beta testers and enthusiasts over the last 3 years that we need a better solution for homes with multiple PCs. I’m happy to confirm that we will indeed be offering a family pack of Windows 7 Home Premium (in select markets) which will allow installation on up to 3 PCs. As I’ve said before, stay tuned to our blog for more information on this and any other potential offers.

UPDATE 8/6: See this blog post here for information on the Windows 7 Family Pack.

Beta testers will not automatically receive a free copy of Windows 7. Many beta testers are already subscribers to TechNet; those of you who fit that description will be able to download Windows 7 RTM shortly after RTM happens for free as part of your subscription.

UPDATE 8/6: See this blog post here regarding a special thank you for beta testers.

However, if you don’t have TechNet and are waiting for GA (to either purchase Windows 7 or wait for your pre-order to arrive) you can continue to use the RC. In fact, you can continue to use it until it expires on June 1st, 2010 (expiration actually starts March 1, 2010, this is when the reboots start).

While our special pre-order offer with the near 50% has ended, Windows 7 can still be pre-ordered today from the various online retailers (including the Microsoft Store).

We are also going to release an evaluation of Windows 7 Professional for IT Professionals via the Springboard Series shortly after RTM. Over 40% of beta testers are IT Professionals and this will allow them to quickly access the RTM code and plan for deployments.

For Consumers:

Windows 7 will be in retail stores and shipping on new PCs starting October 22nd. If you pre-ordered Windows 7, it should be delivered sometime around the October 22nd timeframe (depends on the retailer).

UPDATE 8/6: I’m including a nifty chart to summarize the above information for everyone (click to make bigger).

Hi, Mike Nash here from the Windows Platform Strategy Team.

Earlier this week, I was in New Orleans at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC). It was amazing to see the strength and scale of the Windows ecosystem at this event, particularly as we get closer to the launch of Windows 7.

As I return to Redmond, I’d like to give an update on our approach to partner outreach and enabling the Windows ecosystem.

Driving early engagement

Our partners have been clear from the outset that they needed access to stable Windows 7 builds as early as possible. So we started our ecosystem readiness journey by delivering an API complete pre-release developer build of Windows 7 in October at the PDC, a year before our scheduled General Availability (GA). We followed that with Windows 7 Beta at CES in January, and Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) in May.

This access has enabled partners to be in a great position to complete final testing of their products and services when Windows 7 is released to manufacturing (RTM) later this month.

Focusing on application and device compatibility

When we designed Windows 7, we worked to minimize changes in the way applications and devices interact with Windows. As a result, the work done by 3rd party software and hardware developers to make their products work on Windows Vista generally carries forward for Windows 7. In most cases, the same software and hardware that works on Windows Vista will also work on Windows 7 today.

Some software that is written to very low levels of the operating system, like antivirus and disk imaging software, may require some updates. We have been able to engage closely with those partners and have addressed compatibility issues earlier in the process. As a result, today 10 antivirus companies offer beta versions of their flagship products that are compatible with Windows 7 RC.

New content and programs for partners

Millions of developers and partners have been able to get detailed technical guidance, white papers, tools and code samples from the Windows Developer Center, so they can plan, build and test on Windows 7 sooner. Moreover, thousands of partners are participating in the Windows Ecosystem Readiness Program, which has reached nearly 45,000 software and hardware developers. And over 6 million people have checked out the content at Ready. Set. 7 about how many of our partners are preparing for and innovating on Windows 7.

How customers can get ready for Windows 7

We’ve also been working to ensure customers can take advantage of all of this great work by the Windows ecosystem.

We have created the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, an end-user tool designed to help customers assess their ability to upgrade their Windows XP or Windows Vista-based PCs to Windows 7. A Beta version of the can be downloaded here.

We also have the Windows 7 Logo Program, to help customers know what is compatible with Windows 7. While many products will work with Windows 7, products that carry the “Compatible with Windows 7” logo have passed testing for compatibility with Windows 7 – and because 64-bit support is a logo requirement, logo’d devices will work with both 32 and 64 bit!

Business customers can also use the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, but they need more information on compatibility for enterprise applications. So we’ve also put together a comprehensive list of the most widely used enterprise applications, which we have continuously tested on Windows 7 throughout the product cycle. In addition, there is the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) to help customers assess compatibility of software.

For internally developed line-of-business (LOB) applications, Windows 7 provides a number of in-box compatibility tools. For example, if an application fails to install because of a hard-coded version check (some software installers check the version of Windows you’re running), the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter can troubleshoot the problem by using a version number expected by the installer and running the installer again, with user consent.

How developers can get ready for Windows 7

If you’re a developer and you haven’t yet started testing for Windows 7, I recommend you do 5 key things:

1. Go download the Windows 7 Release Candidate and try it out.
2. Get compatible and test your products.  You can visit www.readyset7.com to learn more about getting ready for Windows 7.
3. Test for the Logo Requirements with our Windows Logo Kit for software and hardware.
4. Tell the world!  Make a statement of support on the Windows Compatibility Center.
5. Unlock your creativity and innovation with the new features in Windows 7. Get started by taking advantage of new opportunities in Windows 7 by evaluating the Windows 7 Developer Guide and Windows Hardware Developer Central.

Being at WPC is a good reminder of all the work it takes across tens of thousands of companies and millions of developers and IT professionals to get ready for a new Windows release. So let me conclude by saying THANK YOU to all of our partners from around the world for your engagement, testing, innovation and feedback – all which will help make Windows 7 a great release for our mutual customers.

--Mike

I’d like to offer up a little insight into the “Release to Manufacturing” (RTM) for Windows 7.

Over the past week, there have been many rumors surrounding RTM.

We are close, but have not yet signed off on Windows 7. When we RTM you will most certainly hear it here. As we’ve said all along, we will RTM Windows 7 when it’s ready. As previously stated, we expect Windows 7 to RTM in the 2nd half of July.

Windows 7 will be available in many languages from around the world. For us to consider RTM “done”, it requires that all languages be completely finished. So there is a lot of work that needs to take place for us to finalize all languages of Windows 7. We also need to get to a point of “global readiness” with our partners. Our partners being ready for Windows 7 is extremely important to RTM. As Steven Sinofsky mentions in this blog post in May, RTM isn’t a single point in time. It’s the beginning of the next “process” for Windows 7. At RTM our partners begin their final preparations for Windows 7, including testing and building images for new PCs. RTM is essentially the final “stage” of engineering for Windows 7 before it hits the market at General Availability (GA). As Steven notes, engineering continues on Windows 7 from RTM until GA on October 22nd.

Another thing to keep in mind is that when we do a specific build internally of Windows 7 we have an extensive step-by-step validation process to ensure quality. This process takes time. Just because a single build may have “leaked” it does not signal the completion of a milestone such as RTM. As always, don’t believe everything that you read on the Internet - except this post ;-).

Everyone is super excited about this version of Windows. I continue to get a ton of questions about some of the things that happen after we RTM. I would like to answer some of those questions:

Once Windows 7 is complete, how do I get it?

The answer depends on who you are:

• MSDN & TechNet Subscribers: Subscribers will be able to download the final version of Windows 7 a few weeks after we announce RTM.
• Volume License (VL) Customers: Customers with Software Assurance for Windows will be able to download the final version of Windows 7 Enterprise a few weeks after we announce RTM. As announced today by Bill Veghte during his WPC09 keynote, customers without Software Assurance will be able to purchase Windows 7 through Volume Licensing on September 1st.
• Consumers, Enthusiasts, & Beta Testers (Everyone else): The retail version of Windows 7 will be available in stores October 22nd. If you pre-ordered Windows 7, it should be delivered sometime around the October 22nd timeframe (depends on the retailer). You can pre-order Windows 7 today through many online retailers like the Microsoft Store.
• On New PCs: OEMs are expected to start shipping new PCs with Windows 7 pre-installed on them around October 22nd.

Can I continue to use the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) until I receive the RTM version?

Yes, you can continue to use the RC until it expires on June 1st, 2010 (expiration starts March 1, 2010 – this is when the reboots start – final expiration on June 1). Please note that “in-place” (or direct) upgrades from the Windows 7 RC to RTM will not be supported. You will be required to do a Custom installation (aka “clean install”).

I am a TechNet or MSDN subscriber. Will I get a product key?

MSDN and TechNet subscribers, as well as Volume License customers will have access to product keys (PIDs) when Windows 7 is made available to them. Product keys for Windows 7 RTM will be different than the product keys used for Windows 7 Beta and the release candidate. Windows 7 Beta or RC product keys *will not* work with Windows 7 RTM.

I am using one of the so-called “leaked” builds of Windows 7, how will I know if it is the real deal?

As always, beware of what you download. There are many bogus copies of Windows 7 floating around the Internet. More often than not, they contain a rather nice malware payload. And don’t believe everything you read on the Internet. When Windows 7 hits RTM, it will be announced here. Until that happens, any builds you are likely to see on the web are either not the final bits or are laced with malicious code.

How do I get a 64-bit copy of Windows 7?

The Upgrade and Full packaged retail product of Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, and Windows 7 Ultimate will come with both 32-bit and 64-bit DVDs. With Windows Vista, the 64-bit version was only available with Windows Vista Ultimate. Due to the incredible adoption of 64-bit today and customer feedback, we decided to change this for Windows 7. Now all copies of Windows 7 in developed markets will ship with both 32-bit and 64-bit DVDs.

I want to emphasize that delivering Windows 7 at the highest quality possible is the biggest criteria we have for hitting RTM. Our top focus is a super high quality release of Windows first and foremost.

Thanks, and check back soon for more Windows 7 news.

Still have questions about Windows 7? Leave your questions below as I have several colleagues here in Redmond waiting to answer any question Windows 7 related you might have.

UPDATE 7/14: Updated information for Volume Licensing.